HEALTH & WELLBEING Breaking through
Report on a talk by Ros Blackburn at RAF Honington by Sue Thompson “I can only know what I am told or taught or shown”
Ros Blackburn is an able adult with autism who displays great courage in dealing with the sensory and social confusion around her. She has an exceptional ability to convey to those around her how she views the world and why she behaves as she does. Using humour and anecdotes, she points out the absurdities of many of our social conventions and makes us question our so-called ‘normal’ behaviour.
os has given very many talks to professionals working in health, social services and education and to parent
groups throughout the UK. But to accept an invitation from the RAF Honington Autism and Additional Needs Support Group on a military base was a first for her, and her carer, and a first for the unit!
The presentation was attended by Station execs, senior staff from MHS and DIO, representatives from RAFs Marham, Lakenheath and Mildenhall and it was great to see a large turnout of parents, carers, welfare staff, Service personnel, head teachers and school representatives. What a day!
Ros isn’t the equivalent of the ‘Rain Man’ in the Oscar-winning 1988 film but she certainly captures an audience with her experience of everyday life living with Autism.
I had had many phone conversations with Ros leading up to the event and we spoke about all aspects of Autism. But on the day I couldn’t even approach her. Ros can’t cope with that thing called ‘social interaction’, in her words: SOCIAL, SOCIAL, YUK, YUK, YUK!
Direct interaction is something Ros avoids like the plague. That idea of being close to someone, having to make eye contact is just not worth the distress it causes her, so it is avoided at all costs.
But Ros is inspirational, such an intelligent lady and so eloquent, reeling off huge words that I couldn’t even pronounce. And her love of trampolining and ice skating brings a glow to her face, these are the two loves in her life. These two elements inspire Ros to talk
28 Envoy Winter 2012
in public about her Autism. To go on the trampoline or to ice skate are her wages for doing what she does.
I remember her saying about Jayne Torvill winning the Gold medal at the Olympics, I personally cannot, for the life of me, remember what year that would be but Ros knew, its imprinted on her mind!
What Ros couldn’t understand was why, when Jane Torvill had just won GOLD she was crying. Wasn’t winning a happy event to be celebrated? You only cry when your sad don’t you? Or do you? Tears in an Autistic world mean sad and unhappy. You know, we all see the smiley face to mean happy, so a tear by the eye means crying and means SAD?! See what I’m getting at? Confusing if you’re Autistic isn’t it?
It is all down to her parents that Ros can ‘read’ the differences. Not that she understands all the nitty gritty of it all, but the basics are well embedded in her mind. Ros can tell you many things but has little emotion about most of them. As she puts it, “I have it up here in my head, but I have no gut instinct!”
Ros says: “
Autism is the inability to single out people as special, separate, unique entities - different from bits of the furniture, different from even the family dog. I have to work out theoretically all the things that you just land yourselves at instinctively.
“To me the outside world is a totally baffling incomprehensible mayhem which terrifies me. It is a meaningless mass of sights and sounds, noises and movements, coming from nowhere, going nowhere.
“So for those who do not have autism my advise when dealing with those who do have the condition is: • If it’s obvious. State it! • If it directly affects the person with Autism…Think out loud!
• Never make Autism the excuse, but help the person overcome the problems caused by it.
“While people usually learn social behaviour instinctively, I have had to devise my own methods. I learnt it all artificially. It’s so rehearsed now that it’s instilled.
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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